TDNet Discover

Objective: To assess the effect that maternal Body Mass Index (BMI) over 30 kg/m2 has on the risk of her offspring developing childhood obesity. Design: Systematic Literature Review. Methods: A search was performed using the databases PubMed, EBSCOhost, Discover @ South College, and UptoDate. The search terms included the following: “antenatal diet,” “obesity,” “maternal obesity,” “BMI,” “childhood obesity,” “fetus,” and “overweight.” Various combinations of these terms were entered into each database to assemble the final list of sources used. The limits for the search included peer reviewed, last ten years, human, English language, and full text. For this study, women with BMIs of at least 30 were included, and the primary focus of the studies were specific to fetal composition and childhood obesity and Body Mass Index (BMI) outcomes. Results: Throughout the three articles reviewed, the evidence was clear that gestational weight gain throughout pregnancy proved to be the most influential factor when assessing maternal weight and BMI’s effect on childhood adiposity risk. The research also alluded to the fact that maternal BMI prior to pregnancy alone has little effect on childhood obesity risk when compared to factors such as breastfeeding, blood glucose, and socioeconomic status. There was no firm and conclusive evidence that proved a definitive correlation between maternal BMI greater than 30 prior to pregnancy and an increased risk of childhood obesity. Conclusion: The single causes of childhood adiposity are numerous, but measures can be taken even before birth to reduce a child’s risk. Limiting gestational weight gain is one measure mothers can take to make an impact on the future health of their children. Making changes such as this can lower rates of childhood obesity, and in turn, this will lead to fewer comorbidities and lower health care costs.